Sisi ni Wazazi Wake
by K.E. Strokez
Summary: Sometimes things just don't work out, and a little girl deserves two happy parents, even if they're living far away from each other. But with one parent ready to completely move on, are things about to get more complicated? Has the battle really ended, or will someone have to completely back down before the drama ends? Indeed...do they want it to end at all? (new description!)
1. Chapter 1

**AN: I know I promised NOT to write any more Grey's fanfiction. But this is a special request, and it's Pride Month. So whatever.**

 **The title of this story is "We are her parents (/mothers)", in Kiswahili. Decided to be playful with language. English isn't my first one, after all.**

 **This is intended to be part of my "Heartache on Screen" series of thingies. Follow it on youtube: playlist?list=PLOeXHFRBa4c1vo0WMJvhpQUTrIUd_0LHT  
**

 **Music: "Nobody Knows You When You're Down And Out" by Bessie Smith.**

* * *

Arizona picked up the phone as soon as she and her daughter reached home. Or, more accurately, as soon as Sofia was asleep.

"I won't let the court decide the rest of our lives," she stated when the party at the other end of the line had picked up.

"Then why did you sue for custody?" Callie growled.

She had progressed past the grieving part of her reaction to the day's events and was now in the anger phase. Arizona could have waited until morning to make the call. But she was angry too.

"Because I saw what the judge saw," the blonde replied, "you were being irrational. And you were thinking with your vagina."

"You've had no problem with that part of me in the past. Why're you throwing a legislative tantrum when my mouth doesn't end up between your legs?"

"Callie, I-"

"YOU STARTED THIS, ARIZONA!" The orthopedic surgeon shouted.

Something broke in the background. Maggie had been so surprised by the sudden outburst that she dropped the glass she was barely holding. And the jug she was using to pour lemonade into said glass.

"NO!" The Pediatric surgeon shouted back. "YOU started this, Callie. YOU broke up with ME because I didn't want a child. And then YOU took me BACK when you got pregnant. I didn't choose to be Sofia's mother. I wasn't there when she was conceived. But I'm her mother. You're her mother. We're _HER_ mothers. And if we could live together after the car crash, after the plane crash, after Mark died, after my amputation, after the bankruptcy, after we bought a FRIKKING HOSPITAL...then we can at least figure out your visitation rights. Your REAL visitation rights, not what the court mandated. Because you and I know two nights a week and every other holiday won't be enough."

Callie swallowed.

"You...want me to..."

"Talk. I want you to talk. I want you to tell me how we're going to raise our daughter together when we hate each other so much. Because this has to start now. I'm not going to sleep without knowing where we both stand on this."

"But the court order..."

"I'm Sofia's legal parent now, yes," Arizona stated, "and when we got married, the state didn't recognize our wedding. Let's not pretend we're going to fully respect those guidelines. Being realistic is the only way we're going to do this."

"But you sued me," Callie gasped, "YOU sued ME. You took my daughter away from ME."

"You're quitting your job to go across the country with your girlfriend," Arizona snorted, "and you _STILL_ don't understand how irrational that is."

"Stop rubbing it in my face," the Latina growled.

"Por que, Calliope?"

The dark-haired surgeon fiddled with the necklace. She had put it on that morning: 'why' had been a mystery. Perhaps it brought her comfort.

Penny walked into the room and Callie's grip tightened on the chain.

"I want every other day of the week," the taller woman stated.

"That means you'll have her for most of every other week," Arizona stated, "I'm not having that."

"Every other second day, then. And Sundays."

"Why Sundays?"

"Because she and I are going to establish a relationship with God. And you don't go to church."

"Oh, cos forcing me to stay in bed until noon was your way of worshiping at the end of every week, huh?"

"First off: you weren't exactly complaining. Secondly: Sunday is the FIRST day of the week. You'd think an over-achieving type-A would know that little factoid."

"Those are too many days," Arizona added once more.

"What do you want from me?"

"Wednesdays, Thursdays, every odd Friday and every Sunday."

"Give me weekends."

"I have plans for her on weekends."

"What plans?"

"Sofia's going to learn to ride horses."

"No she's not. She's going for swimming lessons. With me. Every Saturday. And then she's going to church on Sundays. With me."

"Giving you two days every week is just...wrong."

"So what? I only get her on Sundays now, like some kinda-"

"I meant ONLY giving you two days every week is just...wrong."

"Oh. But you won't let me have three?"

"We have fifty-two weeks every year. A few of those will have Christmas, Easter, Halloween, 4th of July weekends, Labor Days and whatever-else-it-is that people do. And I want Memorial Days as well."

"You want to give me more than just weekends, but you want the important ones, is that what you're saying?"

"I'm saying," Arizona sighed, "that we shouldn't assume all of those holidays will be spent with just ONE of us."

"Oh," Callie realized, "you want to be there with us? Supervised visits?"

"Not supervised visits, Callie," Arizona sighed, "we know our daughter. She's not going to do Christmas without us. Both."

"How do you know?"

"Because I asked the court to let us both have Christmas. And 4th of July weekends."

"You...wait, what?"

"After you left the room, I detained the judge for a few minutes."

"You went behind my back to adjust the terms of your victory?"

"You left and were not obligated to be present."

"Are you _obligated_ to tell me what else you and that judge hashed out in my absence?"

"Only if you ask."

"I'm asking."

"You get to pick Sofia up from school every other day of the week. Even if you're not taking her home with you. And Penny can be near her. I don't resent her for being pulled into this."

Meredith walked into the room and carefully placed an opened bottle of wine, next to a closed bottle of tequila, on the table before Callie.

"So I get to pick my daughter up from school and drive her to your house. Like a chauffer."

"Only for as long as I'm living in Seattle, yes."

"Wait: WHAT?!"

Doctor Torres had shot up from her seated position and screamed.

"If the situation at Grey-Sloan Memorial becomes untenable, I'm moving to LA. Addison's been keeping a job offering open for me for years."

"ARIZONA!"

"I said IF it becomes untenable. They were _our friends_ , Callie. You made them pick sides. And most of them picked yours. Meredith Grey. _OUR_ Meredith. Testified on your behalf."

"Cos she's _MY_ friend."

"She's also a board member. And my friend too. At least I thought she was."

"You go to work in the place where you were almost shot. Where you almost died. Where your leg was amputated. Where our daughter was born prematurely after surviving a car crash that your fiance almost died in. And you're _just now_ starting to think Grey-Sloan is a nasty place to work?"

"Touche."

There was silence. And then there was a sarcastic remark from the black-haired one.

"Would you give me Fridays if I screwed Karev?"

"What?!"

"Or if I _DIDN'T_ screw Karev," Callie added, "again."

Penny walked out of the room. Maggie watched her go. Meredith covered Zola's ears. And Amelia collapsed into a corner: shaking in fits of inappropriate laughter.

"How about we call Lauren up and make it an unforgettable threesome," Callie further suggested, "I'll even bring a bobby-pin so we can accessorize our scrub-tops."

"Callie, I-"

"Or maybe I should take you up on the offer and bring a bone saw with me," Callie was screaming while somehow keeping her volume low, "you can take my leg. Take both my legs. Take one of my arms – your choice – take them. Take them all. Just _please_...please give me my daughter back."

Arizona let her cry. What Callie didn't notice through the sobbing was the sound that her ex-wife was making on her end of the line. All the other adults in their rooms did.

De Luca slunk off when he realized the one-sided drama was getting too intense to watch. Meredith, Amelia and Maggie looked at Callie's phone, where they could hear Arizona's unmistakable sniffing.

And then the Ortho Rock Star abruptly snapped out of it and downed half the bottle of wine.

"Will you give me Fridays if I screw you?"

"Just...stop."

"If I slept with you every morning – even when you're on your period and gross as hell – if I did that, would you let me take my daughter home at the end of the day?"

"We're not doing this, Callie."

"I'm offering myself. I'm...I'm..." The taller woman walked into the bathroom and shut the door behind her.

And then she took her top and bra off and snapped a quick selfie.

"Callie...what are you-"

"Look at the photo I just sent you."

There was a pause. And then an "oh Calliope..."

"Penny doesn't know how to touch them. Not like you do. I'm offering myself to you. You get to touch them. Lick them. You get to rip them off and mount them on your bedroom wall as trophies, just please...please..."

"We can't talk on the phone," Arizona stated, "you need to sober up. And we need to do this in the morning, or in daylight hours, in a neutral place."

"You called _me_ and now you wanna hang up because I'm talking."

"That's not it," the blonde sounded serious, and then sighed once more.

"Then why're you-"

"Hey honey," the blonde suddenly cooed, "come say goodnight to Mommy."

And Callie's heart lit up. She slipped her top back on, knowing her lack of a bra wouldn't be noticed.

Arizona switched to FaceTime and there she was. Sofia, the sleepy child in her favorite pajamas. Sitting on her one-legged legal guardian's lap and waving at the camera.

"Goodnight Mommy," the girl smiled.

Callie smiled back. And then she kissed the screen. Sofia did the same thing.

"Mommy," the child asked before the call was disconnected, "will you and Mama do the special hug again? Cos...cos you're always happy after the special hug."

"The...what?" Callie asked in confusion.

"Sometimes you and Mama shut the door and you make strange noises," the child explained, "I know I'm not allowed in the room when you do that. But this one time I saw. And I left."

" _You...what?"_ Both women gasped in horror.

"You weren't wearing any clothes and you were hugging. Only Mommy was...lower. Like on your tummy, Mama. And she was...I think she was biting you. But you didn't seem to be in pain so-"

"Sofia!"

"I know I'm gonna be in trouble," the child went on, "but you and Mama are always happy after your special hugging."

"Oh Dios Mio," Callie groaned, and her ex-wife decided she'd be better off handling the situation as soon as she could.

"Sofia, honey, go to bed. I'll come read you a story and Mommy will help me, okay?"

"Will Mommy come here and do that?"

"Mommy's a bit too far away right now," Arizona stated, while factoring in Callie's questionable sobriety, "but she'll be with you soon, okay?"

"I'll go to bed now."

They paused while the little girl walked off. And then made their _"what the frick just happened"_ faces.

"Who's going to teach her about 'special hugs' when the time comes?" The Peds surgeon finally broke the silence by wondering.

"I think we should make sure she stays a child a little while longer," Callie stated, "I'm not ready to go there yet. Not when we have so much to figure out."

"She's bound to know you and Penny are...giving each other special hugs."

"I know. It's just...god, Arizona. Let's just...talk about this as you said. In broad daylight, neutral territory, when we're both sober."

"Agreed."

* * *

 **Thanks for reading.**


	2. Chapter 2

**AN: this was going to be uber-serious then it turned to fluff. Brush it regularly, and use conditioning shampoo to keep it lush. (Yeah I know...what?)**

 **Music: "I Loves You Porgy" by Nina Simone**

* * *

The door opened to let the doctor step into the cafe. She looked around the room and saw the back of the person she was there to meet, who apparently was trying to decide which table was best to sit at. Possibly angling for a window where she could see her ex-wife approaching.

"Control freak," the newly-arrived one stated, as she walked out of the cafe, stepped out of (what she assumed to be the other woman's) view and took a few deep breaths.

"You can do this, Callie. You are sober, you are intelligent, you are ready. And you practised in front of a mirror. This is not a date: this is strictly business with a smattering of familiarity."

"Are you...ok?" A man asked as he stopped in front of her.

"Why, you a doctor or something?" She made it a point to lace her answer with a thick accent just to toy with his perceptions.

"I might be."

"Well so am I," she huffed and walked back into the cafe.

Across the room to where the blonde woman sat. And then folded her arms across her chest at the gesture that happened next.

"Really? We shake hands now?"

"Humor me, Callie."

Both palms were warm. Not as soft as they used to be. But slightly friendly, for the brief moment their hands held each other.

When they were both seated, the Latina noticed the pen and notepad next to a menu. Arizona had come prepared.

"We have enough time for coffee, right?"

"Yeah...sure. But just coffee. I don't think I can eat anything."

"Neither can I, to be honest," the Peds surgeon agreed.

Sofia was in school. Which was the first thing they had to discuss.

"How's she going to handle being in different cities if she's going to get a formal education?" Callie asked.

"I was thinking home school," Arizona began, "and since we're both financially stable, I was also thinking boarding school when she's old enough."

" _What?"_

"We can't keep jetting her back and forth all the time. She's going to need some kind of stability in her life."

"And you think she'll get that in boarding school? When she's completely separated from the two of us and left alone in the world?"

"Do you want me to join the military, Calliope? Because if I did we'd have the school thing settled. Who knows, maybe she'd even want to serve her country, like her uncle and-"

"Tell me you're joking."

The blonde looked serious. And then burst out laughing.

"Oh frickin' A, Arizona!" Callie complained.

"You should see your face right now," the blonde went on, as a young waitress carefully approached the table.

"That's not funny!"

"May I...uh...take your orders?"

Arizona saw the labrys tattoo on the waitress' forearm and grinned. So did Callie.

"Just coffee," the blonde replied.

"Extra sugar for hers," the black-haired one insisted.

"A hint of cream for hers," the Peds surgeon added.

The waitress scribbled things on her notepad and began to wonder just how well the women at the table knew each other. Maybe it was just wishful thinking, but...could they be?

"So," Callie ventured when their order was being prepared, "you were kidding about the military thing, right?"

"Of course I was," Arizona stated, "I mean: between The Colonel and his grand-parenting style she'll have all the discipline she needs. And I'm NOT keen on operating on people when there are bombs going off in the background. I've already lost one limb. Not keen to leave more bits of myself all over the world, thank you very much."

"Maybe I should join up," Callie thought, "I mean: everyone needs an Orthopedic surgeon, right?"

Arizona let herself picture her ex-wife in dress blues. And didn't like the idea at all.

"You won't win a Harper-Avery in a war zone." And the other doctor was convinced.

Not like she'd win one anyway if she was staying at Grey-Sloan.

"So: home school?"

"Home school doesn't sound viable," Callie disagreed, "she's probably swimming in science genes, what with me and Mark. And you, of course. And Amelia, teaching her about the human brain. She's not going to get the environment she needs to be excellent at home, no matter how hard we try."

"So I'm going to put some brochures on the table. And you're probably going to disagree with my choices. But you're welcome to bring out your own."

"I came prepared," Callie stated as she reached into her handbag.

They sorted through the colorful range of options. Some intersected, but that was to be expected. Some were either really good or too new to be as good as they claimed.

"If only Grey-Sloan had an all-ages school attached to it then our lives would be so much easier," Arizona remarked.

"Amen to that," Callie grumbled.

" _Fuzzy side up,"_ a memory suddenly shot into the blonde's brain _, "fuzzy side up. Not down: up. My way, my way. Mine, mine!"_

"Maybe we should judge by extra-curricular activities," the Peds surgeon suggested. "Does the school have an equestrian program, for example. Or music classes."

"Music classes?" The Ortho goddess countered, while deliberately ignoring the horse-riding suggestion. "You want Sofia to play an instrument?"

"Everyone should play an instrument. She might hate it when she's younger but she'll thank us for it when she's more neurologically-developed, creative and coordinated than other people her age. Also, if she's making music then maybe she won't be thinking about making babies."

"Control freak," Callie chuckled. "But I agree. Musical instruments. She'll be badass when she slays her guitar solos."

"Calliope Iphigenia Torres," Arizona scoffed, " _our_ daughter will play the piano, like her Mama and grandfather and his father before him."

The waitress placed their coffee on the table and smiled to herself at the revelation.

"No she won't," Callie rejoinded, "maybe she will later. But she'll START by playing the guitar. Guitars are cool, Arizona. Aren't they cool, Jessie?"

The waitress was surprised the woman had read her name-tag.

"I um...I play the drums."

"Can I get a chicken pie?" Arizona asked suddenly. Somehow it only seemed fair to make sure the girl got a larger tip. And she was hungry.

"Yeah, can I get one too?" Callie added.

"Sure."

 _OMG. Cutest lesbian couple ever at-lecafe. #PRIDE._ Went the tweet when Jessie was behind the counter.

"So. Drums it is," Arizona stated. Callie didn't object. Drums were badass too. And tended to build up coordination in both arms.

Who didn't want an ambidextrous orthopedic surgeon?

"Get that out of your mind, Calliope," Arizona protested, having read her mind. "She wants to be an astronaut."

"There's no drum kits on the International Space Station. Sure, there's a guitar, but-"

"Let's worry about that when she's suiting up for takeoff, okay?"

"Agreed. Now let's talk about pets."

"She's gonna want a hamster," Arizona stated.

"What? Hamsters are boring. Nothing in cages: cages are depressing," Callie disagreed. "Let's get a kitten. Or a puppy. But puppies are work. Let's rescue a dog from a shelter. They're always the best."

"And dogs can get used to traveling, if we get a good-tempered one."

"Golden retriever," Callie began.

"No. we're either getting a husky, pitbull or german shepherd."

"I want a dog that can think, Arizona. A companion and a protector."

"Border collie, then."

"What?"

The Peds surgeon took out her phone, did an internet search and showed her a video.

"Oh my GOD. If Sofia can't have one of those then I'm getting one for myself."

"No fair: it was MY idea. I'm getting one for _my_ self."

 _OMG now the lesbian couple's arguing over doggies. at-lecafe #GOALS #PRIDE._

"What if Penny doesn't want one? Or what if she's allergic or something?"

"She'll get injections. Oh look how cute their puppies are!"

"Calliope. That's my phone."

"One more one more one more!" The Latina said before turning the screen to face her.

" _Awwwww,"_ both women gushed.

The pies were placed on the table.

"If you don't mind my asking," Jessie ventured. "How long have you two been like together?"

"Oh we're divorced," both older women chorused, and caught the girl by surprise. _"Awwwww."_

Evidently another puppy was on the screen.

"Doctor Torres, Doctor Robbins!" A woman wheeled a pair of twins up to them and they were both elated to see their former patients so happy.

Jessie went off to tweet something else. _OMG plus they're real-live doctors! at-lecafe #PRIDE #GOALS #LESBIMEDICINE._

By the end of their meeting they had decided on a few things. Visits to Mark's grave at least twice every year. A dog, a cat (Maine Coon, if you please), a drum kit in whichever house Sofia picked to place it in, two identical bedrooms. No phone until she was double-digits old. And both parents would have to get brushed up on tech before then. Spanish all day every day on every other day. Chinese in class, maybe. Their little girl needed a serious edge.

Birds-bees-and-special-hugs would have to wait until she was 11. Or unless the dog (or cat) got too friendly with one of Sofia's stuffed animals.

The biggest unresolved issue was, of course, which school their daughter would attend. They would need a second meeting to figure that out.

"Can I, like, get a selfie for our happy wall?" Jessie asked the pair while they squared the bill.

"You have a happy wall?" Arizona looked at it. "That's kinda like our graduates wall in the peds wing."

" _Awwwww,"_ Callie and her chorused.

They took two: one with just the doctors and the other with the girl who was generously tipped.

* * *

Of course, a certain red-head didn't like it when the photos went viral. At all.

* * *

 **Planning on adding another chapter. Gracias.**


	3. Chapter 3

**AN: So...this was a paragraph long and then I fed it tiny drops of blood until it became a behemoth. It refused to go back into its cave and so I had to let it wander the land, to feed upon those who would behold it as long as the moon was out.**

 **Or something like that.**

 **(Also, this chapter is VERY NSFW)**

 **Song: "The Battle" by Missy Higgins. (Yes, I used something from the Grey's OST for once)**

* * *

"Multiple fractures, severe burns, patients' ages are between 12 and 34," Owen shouted as the personnel on his floor sprinted a few feet behind him.

" _1234,"_ Callie thought as she got closer to the ambulance bay. And then she remembered she didn't know what had happened.

Was it a car crash? An explosion?

"Callie!" Penny said for the third time in a row.

"Oh sorry babe, what's up?"

"Suture kit," the red-head stated.

"Oh, right," she handed the item over and they waited.

The sound of ambulances blared in the distance. They were a Level One trauma center. Callie had been working there for years, but she never got used to the sound of approaching trauma cases. And _no one_ gets used to seeing kids with broken bodies.

"So about tonight," the Resident prodded.

"Tonight? What's tonight?" The Attending asked, and then realized what it was.

"Oh."

"Date night. We made reservations and everything," Dr. Blake reminded her, "I was just saying: if we're not done by then, which we probably won't be, then maybe I should cancel?"

"Good call," Callie stated, then bent to kiss her cheek as an afterthought.

"Page Torres!" April Kepner shouted from somewhere to the right.

The Latina ran off to see to the first of many patients that she was paged to either directly handle or flag to the nearest OR. The dearth of Ortho residents was beginning to take hold as Owen realized just how understaffed that department would be.

" _And I testified in favor of her leaving us,"_ he thought for the umpteenth time. _"Idiot."_

"CODE BLUE!" A nurse shouted from somewhere to _his_ right and he dove in her direction.

Penny wove through the chaos and almost collided with Amelia Shepherd.

"Blake!" The neuro goddess barked. "I have 3 kids on the first floor with heavy abdominal bleeding and one with a ruptured spleen. Grey can't make it for 2 more hours and ruptured spleen patient also has a giant shard of glass embedded in his skull. We're double-teaming but you have to move between 3 O Rs to assist Karev and whoever tags you in from the pit. I suggest you wear a diaper."

That particular part of her job mightn't be the most glamorous (or glorious), but a simple fact came to mind whenever she took the... "emergency padding" too seriously.

" _The astronauts on the moon wore diapers like babies."_

And she laughed at that. Sofia was the cutest with her space trivia. And that particular item had been taught to her by her mother, of course. And not the one whose breasts Dr. Blake had kneaded at every appropriate private moment, especially since Callie had uttered those three magic words.

" _Ask me again."_

"Doctor Blake," stated the short Chief of Surgery as she joined the red-head at the sinks, "what's your approach?"

"Doctor Bailey," the red-head snapped into official mode, "we'll start with an..."

"Doctors," stated the blonde Peds surgeon as she scrubbed in at the sink.

A pause. Throats cleared.

"Doctor Bailey, it seems as if we have too many doctors on this case. I'll scrub into OR3," Arizona suggest-commanded while ceding the room.

Miranda was glad the incident had happened without drama. She was sure her surgeons would put their differences aside at such a crucial moment. Didn't mean she'd want to be in the same room as them while they held themselves at bay.

* * *

They'd decided to stay in for date night. After the chaotic events and with both of them being on call, neither doctor had the energy or the desire to dress up and eat in public.

"Someone was on FIRE today," Callie remarked as the red-head unzipped her girlfriend's jacket.

"Look who's talking," Penny laughed as she initiated their first real kiss of the day. "Have you called Sofia?"

It had become her nightly routine. Letting Callie have her phone call with her daughter while she...prepared herself for bed. And by "preparing herself" she meant taking all her clothes off, letting her hair down and maybe, just maybe, dimming the lights a little.

Dr. Torres was so skilled at flicking Penny's clothes off that she didn't bother wearing pajamas anymore. Or lingerie, for that matter.

" _You don't have to make that kinda effort,"_ Callie had said almost a month earlier. _"Just let me at the goods. And I'll promise you this, Doctor Blake...if you walk into this bedroom and find me covered in sheets...I'm probably wearing nothing under that."_

The brunette talked while the red-head went through her routine. She _had_ been AMAZING that day. All the lives she saw to were saved. Except for that one guy who was practically dead on arrival anyway, but Owen had dragged the fiasco out because he'd been wearing an army cap when he was found.

She didn't dwell on that. Instead, she focused on how Bailey – Chief of SURGERY Bailey – had commended her work not once, but thrice that day. How she'd outshone all the other Residents as they flung themselves from one case to the next and almost always seemed to need her help. Except Edwards, of course.

That girl was-

"So tell me how awesome you were," Callie husked as she walked into the room and shut the door behind her.

"Technique, planning, _innovation_..." her girlfriend moaned as the other woman kissed upwards from her collarbone.

"Badassery at every turn, huh?" The brunette laughed as she smacked the pale woman's bare butt cheek.

"Very _punny_ ," the other woman laughed, and wrestled her onto her clothed back.

"I lived every stitch, every cut, every ounce of flesh. I didn't live the problems, though," Penny dictated as she kissed Callie's collarbone, "those were solved before they even knew they existed."

"Good thing you're leaving or every Attending would be worried for their job," the Ortho goddess laughed – and then gasped when Blake's hands cupped her core.

"No," the Resident smacked the Attending's hand away when the latter tried to touch her girlfriend's unclothed sex.

Callie growled: she knew what mood Penny was in. It was one of her favorites.

The rough _– hands dragged trousers off caramel thighs –_ and hungry _– fingers half dragged and half tore away the black underwear –_ display of emotional state was arousing. And the Latina had secretly been looking forward to their connecting that way for a while.

Dirty, very consensual, and _very guttural_ sex.

And it was clear that Penny wouldn't let Doctor Torres take over that night. By the way she mauled the brunette's neck, pinched her breasts and pressed her thigh against the prone woman's heat.

And, of course, by the way the fingers slid into her wet entrance. By then there was no need for instruction. No need for either of them to ask or be told to go harder, deeper or faster. And no need for Callie to apologize for her very sudden orgasm.

It had been a long day, and she needed release. So did Penny, it seemed. Doctor Blake needed to see her girlfriend come undone because of her. And then she needed something different.

The kiss was light. Gentle, to the (facial) lips (you greedy pervs) and dragging its way down to her clavicles.

The second round was slow. Very, _very_ slow. Penny ignored the wetness flowing out of herself to please the woman she so completely adored. The woman who took her(s, and half of Seattle's) breath away when she walked into a room. Her rockstar with a scalpel.

It was moments like those when she felt like she knew so much about her girlfriend, and yet knew almost nothing at all. There were spots to discover. New places to touch.

Experiments to be performed: _"would you like this better if I stroked you, or licked you?"_

Folds gently touched, as if asking them for permission. Slick, hidden regions to be greeted with the most tender strokes of her tongue as if teasing the Attending's body to release all of its most delicious tastes for her and her alone.

And then...the orgasm.

" _Calliope..."_

Penny had withdrawn from the brunette as soon as she heard the sound. Had lifted herself away from the Latina to gaze in wonder at whatever-the- _frick_ was going on.

In their bed lay a woman enraptured. Seemingly on another orgasm which no one had initiated after she'd said her own name in ecstasy. And seemingly oblivious to the sounds she was making after the fact, when she'd eventually come down from her high.

"Hi," the brunette smiled.

Penny raised an eyebrow.

"C'mere," was offered.

"I'm...going to sleep now, Callie."

"But-"

"I'm exhausted."

Pajamas: a strange feeling after so many nights of being _at least_ topless. But suddenly essential after what had just happened.

* * *

Sunrise was announced by Penny's pager going off and she shot out of bed like a starting pistol had been fired at an Olympic event (ola Rio 2016! Twende Kazi, Team Kenya!).

Callie found her at work, though.

Much later in the day when it seemed as if the entire hospital was emptied of staff. It was a slow day, in contrast to the insanity of the one before. And everyone who hadn't managed to get home was clogging up the on-call rooms on every floor.

But Doctor Torres was keen to talk. And Penny was keen NOT to be in the same room as her. Especially when the taller woman blocked a particular exit.

"People might need to use these bathrooms, you know," the red-head snapped.

"What is your problem, Penny?"

"Last night was a mistake," came the reply.

"For real? Cos I thought last night was uh-mazing. And then you dried up like a prune in the Sahara and didn't wanna talk to me after. Is this cos I didn't give back? Even after YOU said you were tired and wanted to sleep?"

"You said...your name."

"What?" The brunette asked in confusion.

"YOU said YOUR name during at least two orgasms."

"Oh...I thought I zoned out."

"You did," Penny relaxed her angry stance and sighed. "And you were thinking of someone else. You were...you didn't sound like _you_. At all. When you said your name."

Memories of Meredith Grey's very awkward dinner party. Attended by all heads of department at her new place of work...including her girlfriend's tipsy ex-wife.

" _Aww..."_ said the woman in the memory. _"I used to call her that too!"_

"You were fantasizing about having sex with Arizona while you were having sex with me."

"Oh my...Penny, I-"

"How often do you do that?"

"Seriously?"

"Answer me."

They glared at each other for a few moments...and Callie backed away from the door. The red-head walked past and strolled off to the parking lot so she could sleep in her car.

* * *

 **Decided to keep writing Grey's Anatomy fanfics. And to be as experimental as possible with them. Trying out a new writing style too.**

 **More chapters will follow. Please review.**


	4. Chapter 4

**AN: I know people don't like to see Penny and Callie together. I don't either. But I'm writing for practice, so...I'm letting my mind wander. Also noticed I need to make my stuff more contemporary. So...social media!**

 **Also, thanks for the messages about my music selection. I might make a playlist somewhere, but I'd like the musicians themselves to get something out of it. Even if it's just exposure.**

 **Pay for creative work, people! It keeps artists fed.**

 **Song: "Bare" by Wildes. Or is it "Wildes" by Bare? Whatever.**

* * *

"Callie," Arizona was on the war path that morning.

A PMSing amputee surgeon with a cranky kid (Sofia had decided she HATED her particular brand of cereal that morning, even though the girl had _insisted_ on a huge box of it being bought for her) and an ex-wife who was proving to be as elusive as a full night's rest was NOT the kind of person to spill a rather hot cup of coffee on.

But it had happened: to the horror of everyone on that floor of the surgical wing.

And Callie had disappeared into an elevator without being distracted by the sudden communal gasp of disbelief, so the usually-perky woman had half-sprinted for nothing.

"Great," the blonde growled. _"Just great."_

"I am SO sorry, Doctor Robbins."

A familiar face. Not in scrubs, but very, very...

"Polly," the woman reminded her as she fumbled for something to help clean the other woman's coat.

" _Peds prospect Polly,"_ they had called her, when she'd decided to do her fellowship somewhere else.

"Oh, right," Arizona stated. "Wait...what're you doing here? Are you OK? Is your family-"

"Oh no, no," the woman insisted, as the Attending walked into the lounge and took her soiled lab coat off, "I'm um...I think I'm lost."

"Where were you headed, exactly?"

"The board room. Someone told me-"

Meredith walked into the room and collapsed face-first onto the couch.

"Doctor Grey, I'm sure there are on-call rooms for that," Richard Webber remarked as he walked into the room and stretched.

"'alk tuh th' 'an'," the exhausted surgeon replied while barely lifting said appendage to make her point.

"The board room's three floors up," Arizona stated to the guilt-ridden _kind-of-new_ comer, "and I'm guessing you're here for some kind of interview?"

"Yes, I-"

"Doctor Robbins," a flustered-looking resident said as they lingered at the threshold.

The blonde turned to face the frightened person, who mumbled something about a kid throwing up blood.

"You should have PAGED ME!" Arizona shouted as she ran out of the room.

"I didn't-"

The Attending interrupted. "You left a distressed patient to go half way round the block to find me."

"The other residents are with him-"

"And you should be too!" Arizona shouted, before she decided to use the low-volume tongue-slicer from her instrument tray of contempt.

" _Incompetent, negligent, stupid. Just plain stupid."_

The elevator doors slid open.

"You stay here," the woman barked at the younger man, "seeing as everyone else can function without you, it means I don't need you to come with me. You are _off my service_."

 _Ding._

The elevator doors opened on the correct floor and Callie knew to step aside to let her ex-wife run past.

"We still have to talk!" The blonde shouted over her shoulder.

"I know!" The Latina shouted back.

* * *

"Oh. Em. Gee. It IS her!" A teenager remarked when Doctor Torres walked into the room holding a pair of crutches.

"Alright everyone, I need you to clear out," the brunette instructed the clique of visitors. "And shouldn't you be in school?"

"Will you, like, sign my yearbook?" One of them asked without moving from her perch on the patient's bed.

"Why would-?"

Wilson entered the room with a black eye, and the crowd slunk away.

Rumor had it that Jo had killed (and possibly _eaten_ ) Karev, and the hospital was covering it up. Heck, they'd even brought in a new Peds Attending to replace the guy barely a day after he'd last been seen.

"I don't think anyone believes you walked into a door," the patient said to the younger doctor.

Teenagers – and bored nurses – were the _worst_.

"She actually did. I saw it. And I stitched her lip, which was why we're a few minutes late," Callie remarked.

"You stitch people up?" The cherry-blonde girl stated. "I thought you were, like, a _bone_ doctor."

"How would that work if she didn't?" Wilson asked out of irritation.

Callie would have told the resident off, but she could sense a change in the air that day. Like everyone was watching her. And whispering behind their hands.

Had Penny started a smear campaign of some kind?

"So your legs are doing great. You can stand, but you can't walk without assistance. This is going to be weird at first, but you just have to get used to it."

A flash of light in the corner of her eye. A curious surgeon turned to look at its source.

"Did they just..."

Wilson barked at the teens in the hallway. "This is a _hospital!_ Selfies are _not appropriate_ in here!"

"We weren't taking any," one of the teens defended, "now could you please, like, _move?_ You're blocking us."

Jo followed their line of sight and saw that they were...oh, those _brats!_

Grunted and shut the door behind her. And twisted the shutters opaque.

"Oemgee! Why'd you she that?" Was the bleated complaint in the hallway, followed by the inevitable. _"How rude!"_

Jo rolled her eyes and went back to work.

"These need to be adjusted," Callie stated.

"On it, Doctor Torres," the resident grabbed a tape measure and held it to the patient while the Ortho Goddess made a few notes on her tablet.

"Can I watch TV?" The patient asked.

"As long as you keep the volume down," the Attending instructed.

" _Over to our pop culture correspondent, Danielle Moodie-Mills..."_

"She's _so gay_ ," the girl remarked, as a network error popped up on her device.

Callie raised an eyebrow at the girl. "What's _that_ supposed to mean?"

"I mean, like, she has a wife and everything. Like you have a wife and everything."

"I don't anymore," the older doctor remarked as she went back to waiting for the damn server to get back online.

"So you and the blonde doctor in those photos split up? That sucks."

"What are you talking about?"

"The ones on spinstagram? The ones you took on your date with her like, a few days ago or whatever?"

"You went on a DATE with Doctor Robbins?" Jo gasped.

"No I did NOT. And what photos are you-"

"THOSE ones," the teen pointed at the TV.

" _...and here they are. Social media darlings Arizona Robbins and her wife, Calliope Robbins," said the reporter, "both doctors, both steaming hot, and both unbelievably adorable."_

" _Dammit!"_ Callie cussed under her breath.

" _We here at Politini would like to salute both these women for Fighting Injustice to Reach Equality, or as we'd like to call it here on the show: Bringing the FIRE."_

"But I didn't-"

" _We haven't heard of any activism from either ladies,"_ the correspondent added, _"but by being who they are: smart, successful and confident, they are doing more for positive representation and by giving all young girls out there some real role models to aspire to."_

" _A million channels out there and you decide there's nothing else to watch,"_ Callie growled, before raising her volume, "are you done, Doctor Wilson?"

"Ready, Doctor Torres."

" _Lemme teyya,"_ the woman on screen went on, _"when my wife Aisha and I saw their photos we both awwwwwed at them for ages. Super mad feels, y'all. It's like having a couple you don't know from Adam – or in this case, Lillith – but you root for them like they're your life force."_

"Alright, turn that off."

"Doncha wanna hear what else they're saying?" The teen pouted.

But off the TV went, and up she got.

* * *

"You have fan sites now," April remarked as she waddled into the Attendings' Lounge.

"What?" Arizona asked. She needed to take her leg off for a few minutes.

"People have made websites dedicated to you," Kepner expounded as she rested her very pregnant keester on the most comfortable part of the couch.

"Fetal surgery is a fresh field with many possibilities," Arizona dismissed, "although dedicating websites to the doctors that perform them is a tad too...much. Do they mention Herman at all?"

"That's not why they're making the sites," April looked puzzled. "Do you, like, _seriously_ have no idea?"

"What are you-"

A flash of amazing silky black hair and short-sleeved white lab coat. And an amputee risen from her seat and propelled into the hallway by a need to speak with her ex-wife.

"Callie!"

The taller woman spun on her heels with a determined look on her face and spoke. "Let's talk. Now."

" _Really?_ " April groaned. "You couldn't do this anywhere else?"

"Don't get up," Callie instructed the squeaky one. "This won't take long."

The door was shut. Two women stood facing each other with folded arms and jaws clenched.

Dark brown liquid pools attempted to intimidate deep blue ones. And unknown period of time passed in silence and unnerving stillness. And someone finally cleared their throat.

It was the pregnant woman: fed up of the sudden lack of drama.

"Will you guys... _stop_ doing that?"

" _She's_ the one who wanted to talk," Callie stated, while finally ending their stare-down by looking at April.

"And _she's_ the one who's been avoiding me all day," Arizona stated in return while mirroring the Latina's actions.

"What did you want to talk to her about?" April suggested in aid.

"Sofia's education."

Callie looked at her in surprise. "Really?"

"Yes. Really," Arizona stated. "She wants a telescope: says we shouldn't buy her a birthday present this year if she's going to get one. You know, so we can save to build her an engineering lab."

"She did?" Callie felt a flood of tears stinging her eyes.

"I found planetary graffiti on her bedroom wall," Arizona stated.

"She does that," the brunette shrugged, "even when she stays at Meredith's. It's embarrassing, but we let Zola take the heat for it."

"How _responsible_ ," Arizona rolled her eyes, "anyway: if she's going to Mars we have to get her on the junior space program as soon as she's old enough. Which means she's-"

"Mars?"

" _Come on_ , Callie. We're both overachieving science freaks," Arizona sounded like she was on the verge of screaming, "and you and Mark's genes mean she'll grow up tough. And we both know we want to watch her become the first human to set foot on another planet. It's going to happen. Our daughter is going to Mars. First she'll make a stop on the moon. You know, so a woman can _finally_ make some footsteps there, for _crying out loud-_ "

"You're rambling."

"PICK A SCHOOL! It's all you have to do!"

"If I pick one in New York you'll say no!" Callie shouted back almost instantly.

"And if I pick one here you'll shoot it down as well!"

"What do you want us to do, huh? Make her take a super-early SAT and see if she gets into Harvard or something? Cos at least that'll mean we can both move to another state and you won't have this much power over the situation."

"I have SOLE CUSTODY. I'll always have full control, whether you like it or not."

"Way to be humble, Arizona."

"We both lost," the blonde countered. "When the judge made her decision, there were no winners. But _we're her mothers_. We can put our differences aside and support her. I know we can. It's why I'm letting you make the choice."

"So you'll go with whatever I pick?"

"For a year. If she doesn't like it, or if they're not driving her hard enough, I'll send her to my own chosen school. Also for a year. Until we find somewhere _good enough_ for _our daughter_."

Callie relaxed her stance and opened the door. "Alright. I'll choose. And we have to get her some space mobiles or posters or something. Before she gets her hands on a spray can and we have to get her out of juvey for defacing a monument or something."

Arizona shuddered at the thought, "although I bet some dull statues would look better with huge red anatomically-situated illustrations of Uranus on them."

"I hope Sofia doesn't do that to _your_ statue when she's a rebellious teenager."

"You are _insufferable_ , Calliope."

Callie laughed, and so did the blonde.

Penny stopped walking when she was close enough to see them, spun on her heels and strode away.

* * *

"Y'all are _naaasty_ ," Bailey remarked as a dejected-looking troop of interns stood before her. "Shower. Change your scrubs and make sure you _wear the damn protective aprons_ before you deal with an explosive bowel. Have I taught you _nothing?_ "

A few mumbled sounds came from the youngsters, who were unsure if they were meant to answer her question.

"Did I stutter?" The short woman rebuked. "GO NOW!"

" _What a crappy day,"_ Penny Blake thought as she walked through the crowd but didn't hold her nose, fan herself and jump back against the wall like everyone else did when they encountered the interns.

"You seem distracted, Doctor Blake," the Chief of Surgery remarked.

"Hmm? Oh, no Doctor Bailey, I was-"

"Don't let social media affect you. They're just trending for now and then the horde of button-pushing microscopic attention-span follower-junkies will find something else to distract them."

"I'm sorry, what are you...?"

"Remember that," the short woman stated, and walked off without giving an explanation.

"You look like you discovered a toe growing out of your tongue," Edwards remarked from her perch at the front desk.

"I just had the weirdest conversation with Bailey," Doctor Blake remarked, while noting Stephanie's very interesting phrase and saving it for possible future use.

Jo approached with a grin on her face that made her look like the Cheshire Cat. With a black eye and busted lip.

" _Brace yourself. She's about to gush about her boyfriend,"_ Edwards muttered.

"Where is he, anyway?" Penny wondered aloud.

Suddenly their instincts kicked in. Something had happened. Something to do with why Jo's hand was in her pocket. And had been there _all morning_ , come to think of it.

" _Oh...em...gee,"_ Edwards gasped in slow motion.

Karev had FINALLY done it.

The world seemed to slow down as the woman pulled her left hand out of her pocket. Blake and Edwards' eyes went wide with shock as they waited to see-

"Look!"

-the phone was unexpected. And no, the hand she held out didn't have an engagement ring on it, like they thought it would.

" _DAMMIT!"_

Wilson looked at both women like they were insane. They weren't, but the hyperventilating and relieved fanning they carried out with their clipboards seemed to suggest they'd come in contact with the poop-covered intern flock.

"What is WRONG with you two?"

"Don't you EVER do that again," Edwards commanded.

Getting out of my-best-friend-got-engaged-oh-my-god-yay-diamonds mode to why-the-frick-is-she-holding-out-her-damn-phone-like-that mode was nerve-wracking.

Being a social animal was tiresome.

"Look at the photo!" Jo commanded, and then realized that she probably shouldn't be doing that with Blake around. "Oh um...on second thought scratch that. It's nothing."

"Why's it suddenly nothing?" Penny wanted to know.

"Cos it's not. Really. I was just bored and decided to screw with you both."

"Show me what's on the phone," Edwards wanted to know.

"You can look at it later. Right now there's the _cutest_ set of Siamese twins in the NICU you might wanna-"

Stephanie pulled her own phone out and unlocked the keypad.

"You reblogged something," the curly-haired genius stated, "and I'm on rumblr too, dumbass."

"I'm not," Penny admitted, "but wait: doesn't your rumblr pleef when you post on it?"

"SIAMESE TWINS IN THE NICU!" Wilson took hold of their arms and began to drag them there.

"They'll still be there when we've looked at the damn photos," Edwards insisted.

"What kind of doctors are you?!"

"The kind who every Attending asks for," Stephanie replied.

"The kind who wins grants," Penny replied.

Shaming them into forgetting the internet wasn't going to work. And boy had it backfired so _spectacularly_ on her.

"Come to think of it," Edwards lingered, "have you chosen a specialty yet, Wilson?"

"Oh that's none of your damn business," the woman snapped.

"Jealous, are we?" Penny taunted. "Cos...you know. You were sure you had the grant and I won it. Don't worry, there'll be others."

"In like...5 years or something," Edwards teased. "I'm sure they'd give an Attending precedence in their applications. And you'll probably be one by then so-"

"What'll it look like for an Attending to be applying for the same program as Residents," Penny interrupted, "I know the answer to that. Like you're an over-employed _LOSER_."

Wilson narrowed her eyes and showed Penny her phone.

"Look. They've gone viral."

Blake's eyes shot wide open, and then she forced herself to remain expressionless.

" _Doctors Arizona and Calliope Robbins. Wives forever."_ Read the caption. And it had been posted a few days earlier.

Wilson added with more malice: "that looks like a cafe. Lesbians date over coffee, don't you?"

The photos had been reblogged 8.5 million times.

Penny walked off.

"You can be such a bitch sometimes, Wilson," Edwards shook her head and walked in a different direction.

* * *

 **Also: I intensely admire Danielle and Aisha Moodie-Mills. Just had to slip (one of) them into my fic. Do some internet-searchation to find out who they is.**

 **I feel like those Siamese twins in the NICU deserve some attention. But I don't like kids, or kids in hospitals. Depressing as hell. I'm aiming for some shouting-matches and more viral stupidity in the next chapter.**

 **Thanks for reading. Please review.**


	5. Chapter 5

**AN: This one's short.**

 **Also: I don't hate teens. I'm just writing some overly-exaggerated airhead ones cos it fits the story.**

 **Song: "Diet Mountain Dew" by Lana del Ray**

* * *

"They're calling you 'Calzona'," April stated as she followed Arizona through the hallways.

The pregnant woman had a few days left before her maternity leave and was itching to operate on someone. Good thing a transplant patient had just arrived and Karev had been sent out to retrieve their new kidney.

 _(That was where he was, people!)_

"Calzona," the Peds surgeon mused aloud, "sounds delicious. But I have NO idea what you're talking about."

"Do you use the internet AT ALL?" Kepner half-screamed, before reaching into her pocket and turning her phone on.

"I haven't had the time, what with saving tiny humans and all," the blonde responded while barely looking up from the tablet that had decided to freeze on her. "Oh for crying out loud. Will someone fix the damn server already?"

"Look," April insisted.

"Can your phone connect to the hospital network?" Robbins asked with hope-twinkly eyes.

"No. But it CAN connect to the internet, which is the greatest network of them all."

"That's not helping any," Arizona huffed, and then saw that the screen had bright pink butterflies on it. "What is that anyway?"

"IT'S _RUMBLR_ , for duck's sake!"

"That kinda looks like my scrub-cap," the distracted doctor thought as she half-pretended to behold the screen. "Walk and talk, Kepner."

"You are _impossible_ sometimes," the pregnant woman sighed as she obeyed.

A flock of teenagers in the waiting area gasped aloud when both doctors became visible.

"Oh-em-gee! It's like, HER!"

Several flashes of annoyingly-bright light and several coos of "like, selfie!" had the blonde surgeon dazed.

"What the hell is going on?"

"You're Arizona Robbins. And your wife is, like, super cute."

"I don't _have_ a wife," the adult insisted while the adolescent horde began to crowd her.

"Jessica Capshaw should, like, _totes_ play you in the movie," another one of them stated.

"Jessica who?" Arizona asked. "And _what movie_?"

"I just pleefed the photos," something in the gathering, like, informed the rest and everyone stopped what they were doing to, like, re-pleef them.

The adults took advantage of the momentary stillness to get away.

"April, what the _frick_ is going on?" Arizona asked yet again.

"FOR CRYING OUT LOUD!" The pregnant woman snapped, while holding the other doctor's shoulders in the middle of the hallway.

The blonde braced herself. And could feel tears welling up in her eyes. Newly-returned-from-a-warzone April was scary sometimes.

"You and Callie! According to the internet, anyway. _Look!_ "

A pause. Some speed-reading, and then an exclamation. "Calliope ROBBINS?!"

And then the largest laughing-fit ever, while April and a few nurses watched in amusement. Money was secretly passed between slightly-disappointed employees (and one or two patients).

"Oh it'll die down," the doctor finally stated while wiping her eyes, "it's just a few photos and uninformed people online. What could _possibly_ -"

A television screen in an empty patient's room. With Callie in center stage...giving a TED Talk.

"Oh my _God_ ," Arizona groaned.

"Pliffler is on fire with the new photos of you," April went on, "oh! And there's fanfiction too!"

"Fan _what?_ "

"Fan _fiction_ , for crying out loud!" Kepner stated while waving yet another website in the blonde's face.

"Oh...oh my, these are just _NASTY_ ," the Peds surgeon fought the urge to cross herself and throw the phone through the nearest window.

"Doctor Robbins," a receptionist stated, "about 13 news channels wish to interview you. And Doctor Karev is en route with the kidney."

"You couldn't say the last thing first?"

"The first thing was more exciting," the playful woman stuck her tongue out.

Arizona smiled and shook her head.

"It'll die down," the woman soothed before the phone rang again and she had to go back to work. "Yes, this IS Grey-Sloan memorial. And no, you may NOT speak to either of them. We save LIVES at this hospital, and our doctors are extremely busy people. Stop calling, all of you! Or I shall have your phone numbers blacklisted and good luck trying to get through to us if you have an emergency."

"That'll learn 'em," Arizona high-fived the receptionist, "coffee and a lemon muffin, right?"

"Always a pleasure, Doctor Robbins."

The exchange had barely ended when two other women walked right up to them.

"I believe you've already met Doctor Preston," Bailey stated, "Doctor Kepner, I'd like to introduce your new colleague."

"I didn't know we were hiring a new Peds Attending," the blonde smiled, "but you're very welcome, Polly."

"Oh, I'm n-," the newcomer began to reply, as several pagers went off in unison.

"Alright people, all hands on deck!"

* * *

"Let me start by saying," Callie said to the woman she was facing, "that I had NO idea things were going to happen this way. And I...I had a speech."

"Had?"

"I still have one...I was just warning you. My Shakespearian monologue skills have greatly improved since I started working here."

"You've had a lot of practice," the other woman smiled back.

"It's just...I hate that you left home."

"You practically kicked me out," came the reply, "and it's your house anyway."

"One with very good memories," Callie smiled, "and some heartbreakingly bad ones."

"Is ' _heartbreakingly'_ a word?"

Lips gently caressing, with no tongue.

"I have to say this," the taller woman insisted, "it's...I just-"

"Calliope...I'm listening."

"We have a kid together," the brunette began, "it's not easy, I know. But that means we're tied for life."

"I understand that."

"And it's not like I've been a saint. I mean, our marriage was a lesson in intensity," Doctor Torres continued, "but it was what it was."

The other woman did not reply, but waited patiently for her to continue.

"Sometimes I zone out," came the explanation, "sometimes I...forget just how much things have changed."

"Why couldn't you have said that earlier?"

"We sure wasted a lot of time, didn't we?" The brunette grinned.

"Ya think?"

"So that's why I imagined myself having sex with Arizona. It was a throwback: a memory that just seeped into my brain. It's unreal. It's...it's the past. And I'm moving forward. With you."

"I'm not angry at you just because of that," Penny clarified, "it's just...the other night you were _with me_ when I was rough and dirty. But when I was tender and seeking a deeper connection, you were...with _her_."

"Penny, I-"

"You sought to connect with Arizona," the red-head insisted, "you imagined yourself being with her. You turned your girlfriend into _your wife_ , and not in a romantic way."

"It was a brain fart!"

"It was multiple orgasms brought on by a memory!" Penny snapped. "And we're _building a life together_ , Calliope! You, me and Sofia. And we're not-"

"You testified in court for me," Callie sniffed as she put her hand in her lab coat and touched the small box inside it, "you put up with the craziness that is my life and I...I could never, ever repay you for that, Penny. NEVER."

"I need to know where you are in all this," the red-head insisted, "I need to know we're in the same place. Mentally. Before we make a huge mistake. I need proof, Calliope. I need...something."

"I want you close to me," the Ortho goddess said as she firmly grasped the box and began to pull it out of her lab coat.

And then her phone went off.

Box down, Android up.

"Hello?"

"Is this Doctor Calliope Torres?" Asked a woman's voice on the other end of the line.

"Yes it is," the brunette's mind raced.

 _Was it Sofia's school? Oh dios mio, don't let it be Sofia's school..._

"Please hold for the First Lady of the United States."

* * *

 **And there you have it.**

 **What do you think will happen next?**

 **"Do you think we'll be in love forever? Do you think we'll be in love?" I can't stop listening to that song.**

 **Know what'll be good for me, though? Reviews.**


	6. Chapter 6

**AN: I flipped a coin to decide if the First Lady was Mellie Grant or Michelle Obama. Guess who won?**

 **Music: "Boom Boom Ba" by Metisse.**

* * *

"I know this might not be a good time," said the voice at the other end of the line, "and it's somewhat creepy of me to call your personal number."

"Nononononono it isn't," the doctor mumble-rambled, "it's not...I...well..."

"You're a doctor. I figured there would never be a good time," spoke the over voice, with a hint of smile.

"Of course. I was on my break so it's a good time. A very good time. God, is there ever a bad time for you to call someone? Oh wait...I'm a doctor. You're calling a doctor. Are you okay?"

A very amused laugh at the other end of the line.

"I'm fine. And I'm not high, if that's what you're thinking. I just saw your TED talk. And I must say it's very impressive."

"I um...well, cartilage regeneration is a pretty exciting thing. I hope it inspires more people to...oh frick, I'm giving you the prepared speech, aren't I?"

Penny's pager went off and she left.

"I'd say by the multiple fan websites out there, you've made quite the impression on the world. You and your wife."

The last hint of red moved through a doorway.

"Oh she...um, yeah. She's an amazing person. My wife."

"I'd like to meet you both," said the woman at the other end of the line, "I'm doing a series on female role models working in tech and medicine. And going by the work you've done with our amputee veterans I'd say you're in both fields."

Callie's eyes were probably the size of her face by then.

"You want us to...go to DC?"

"Not right away," the other woman stated, "I'll be in Seattle in a few days and would like to personally meet you both. And maybe you can give me hints about how I should prepare. You know, just in case one of my daughters wants to follow in your footsteps."

The doctor sat on the railing: a thing she'd berated more than one intern for doing over the years.

" _I don't wanna touch anything that's touched your butt," the Attending had growled, "and I'm NOT in the mood for snapping your limbs back in place when you fall off."_

"It would be an honor, Ma'am," the surgeon stated.

"Excellent. My aides will send you both some details. Soon. Have an awesome day, Doctor Torres."

* * *

" _...would like to formally invite you to..."_

Arizona snorted when she read the message and deleted it. "Spam."

"So hey," Callie ventured as she walked up to the other woman at a nurse's station.

"Hey," the blonde replied, "you look like you've been through a paper shredder. Only, of course _you_ came out with limbs intact, unlike _some of us_."

"Can I talk to you for a moment?" The Ortho goddess stated, after wondering when Arizona had reached the stage where she could joke about losing her leg.

"Doctor Robbins," Polly Preston stated, "oh, sorry. Arizona."

A beaming super-magic smile appeared under blue eyes. And raised eyebrows from the taller brunette.

"Uh huh, Polly?"

"Just confirming. You said 8:30, right?"

"Yep. I'll be waiting in my office and we can go down together."

"See you then." A charming smile from the younger doctor, and both heads of department watched her butt as she left. Only one of them felt guilty about ogling.

"Wait...you have a date with _Peds Prospect Polly_?" Callie asked, almost incredulously.

"Why, were you thinking of asking her out?" Arizona rolled her eyes and went back to looking at her clipboard.

"It's just...she hasn't been here all that long."

"Are you saying she's too young to date?" Arizona's side-eye was devastating. "Cos if I'm not mistaken, she's _2 years older_ than Penny."

"Did we HAVE TO pick women who sounded like they were named after the same comic book character?" Callie mused aloud.

 _Click. Click click click shutter-whirr click._

"HEY!" The blonde barked at the man with a camera for a head. "BACK OFF!"

Callie took several menacing steps towards him.

"Come on, girls. Smile for papa!"

 _Thump._

"CALLIE!"

" _This is a HOSPITAL,"_ the Ortho Goddess growled at the man she'd pinned against the wall. _"There are people here who need help. And staff who have really difficult jobs. The last thing ANYONE needs is some fricking paparazzo stalking the halls and violating everyone's privacy."_

" _Back off_ , lady! One of these photos might put my kids through college!"  
"Callie!" Arizona called out again when she realized the man's feet had risen a few inches higher after his last statement.

Some older nurses had gathered to watch, and stood with arms folded over their chests.

"Will someone help me?" The man with a camera bleated.

"Are you hurt, sir?" One of the nurses asked.

"No...it's just...she's..."

"Then there ain't nothing we can do for you."

Callie narrowed her eyes. Arizona walked over to her and did the one thing that was guaranteed to drop her arms.

 _Double-poke._

The Ortho Goddess dropped her arms and emitted an uncharacteristic squeal for someone endowed with her badassery.

But even the most badass people could be ticklish. And Calliope Torres was a helpless victim of that affliction. Especially when her Peds surgeon ex-wife got a hold of her.

"ARIZONA!"

"CALLIE!" The blonde shouted back, and then collapsed into a fit of inexplicable laughter.

The man with a busted camera crawled away as the Latina began to giggle.

"Hey camera guy," Edwards taunted as he failed to catch the elevator.

"What?"

"I've got a giant tumor in this ice box. You wanna see?"

He took off down the stairs and Wilson handed the other Resident a folded-up 20.

"Haven't you learned not to bet against me, Jo?" The woman smirked, as someone took the money from her hand.

"And haven't y'all learned not to bet in front of your Chief of Surgery?"

"Doctor Bailey, we-"

"What's this I hear about Torres punching a man through a wall? Is he alive?"

"He just left. Unharmed," Wilson explained, "and she didn't hit him. Just...pushed him against a wall. And held him up. Like, _way_ up."

"And y'all didn't get any video of it?" She sounded disappointed.

"We were...um..."

"Trying to get a paparazzo to look at a tumor in an ice box," the woman sighed. "Priorities, people! A living person is much more important than a mound of severed-"

Edwards had opened the box and shown it to her.

"-oh my GOD! I'll give you 20 for it!"

"Deal."

Three guesses which note she used.

"Oh hi Doctor Bailey. What's in the box?" Arizona acted pleased to see the woman. "And please don't fire Callie. She got to him before I did. If she goes, you'll have to find yourself a new head of Peds. Unless that's what you wanted to talk to me about. You hired Polly to replace me, didn't you?"

"You said all that without pausing to breathe," Bailey snorted, "I have in this icebox a tumor. And I have in my office a fax from the White House."

"Wow," Arizona stated. "Can I see it? The tumor, I mean."

"Aren't you interested to hear about the fax?"

"It's a piece of paper," Arizona shrugged as Callie stepped behind her, "the tumor, though. That's interesting."

The orthopedic surgeon was making frantic motions towards the short doctor, who chose to ignore them.

"Doctor Calliope Torres and her wife have been invited to not just one, but _three_ , White House-sponsored events," the Chief of Surgery stated, "and I can be at any two of them. So, will either of you tell me just what the hell is going on?"

Arizona's mind flashed back to the email she had just deleted. And she groaned. Before turning to see what Callie was doing.

The Latina stiffened. The way she did when she was about to say something the blonde disagreed with. The way Sofia did when she was about to confess to doing something wrong. The way their entire three-person family did when one of them was about to get in trouble.

"Calliope...what did you do?!"

The facial expression caught Callie by surprise. She expected to see anger. Instead she saw elation.

"You proposed to Penny!" The blonde added.

The red-head in question was about to turn and leave she scene, but stayed exactly where she was.

"Wait I...no, I didn't. What the hell?"

"Then what did they mean by...oh." And her phone rang.

" _Please hold for the First Lady of the United States,"_ happened for the second time that day, and it was the blonde's turn to have eyes the size of her face.

She led Bailey into the nearest lounge and Penny walked over to her girlfriend.

"I uh...well, me and the rest of the floor just overheard that."

"Oh Penny, I..."

"The volume on your phone's speaker is pretty high, you know," the red-head stated, "I know Michelle Obama called you earlier. And I didn't know you had a wife, Doctor Torres. She must be so proud of you."

"Penny!"

The Resident walked off and Callie followed.

"Penny, listen!"

"We have _patients_ , Doctor Torres," came the stiff reply, "and I don't know about you, but I like to check on mine one last time before I leave each night. So please, _please_ don't bother me when I'm at work."

* * *

"So then she said she'd heard about my work with Doctor Herman," Arizona rambled after pausing to take a really long sip of her wine – white.

Polly HATED white wine.

"And then I was like, 'Doctor Herman has done incredible work. It was an honor to work with her.' And then she said she'd followed my career. And that she was worried about my amputation. I mean...can you believe it?"

"Incredible," Doctor Preston remarked, although she figured the people in the First Lady's office had done a fair amount of internet searching before that phone call.

"But she still thinks me and Callie are married. I guess...I should set her straight on that. Right?"

"Wait – aren't you and Doctor Torres still married?" Polly asked.

Arizona looked puzzled. "Would I be here if we were?"

"I thought it was like...an open marriage? Those are all the rage these days. Especially with bisexuals."

"First off: I'm NOT bisexual," Arizona corrected, "and Callie and I have been divorced for over a year now."

"Well you sure act like you're still married," Polly remarked, "I mean...you haven't shut up about her – and Michelle Obama – since before we left the hospital. And you sure looked cozy with each other the whole day. I wondered if we should cancel."

"Polly," Arizona touched her hand. "This isn't how I wanted things to go. I ramble. It's a personality trait. It also means I'm nervous. And excited. And FYI, I was rambling since you said you'd join me for dinner. So...what do you think of Grey-Sloan Memorial?"

"It's...eventful. And interesting. And I bet you never get bored," the younger woman smiled, as she lingered on the warm hand on her own.

Fingers sought out a more experienced palm and traced the blonde's lifeline.

Arizona grinned, and then Polly's phone rang.

"I have to get this. And use the bathroom," the other doctor stated as she got up.

"Hurry back," the blonde winked.

The other chair wasn't empty for long.

"What the hell?"

"Hear me out," the newly-arrived woman stated. "About the Obama thing...it wasn't as if you did anything to correct the situation either."

"That's cos you put me – and Bailey – in a very difficult position, Callie."

Both women were dressed for dinner. And Sofia was staying with Meredith that night.

"It's not like we weren't married fairly recently. I guess the internet hasn't bothered to get its facts straight either."

"As if anything could ever be straight about us," Arizona smirked.

Callie laughed, and reached into her purse.

The blonde looked wide-eyed at the box that was placed in front of her.

"I was about to propose to Penny right before the phone call," the Ortho Goddess confessed.

"Oh my...why're you showing it to me?"

"Cos I...I just had to. To give me closure."

"You're asking for my... _blessing_?" The blonde's tone was laconic. Except for that last word, which sounded emotive but did not betray how its speaker felt. At all.

"Calliope Iphigenia Torres," Arizona sighed, "you buy a ring for a woman and she, only she, should see it. You do NOT show it to your ex. Especially not in a public place, when you're dressed for dinner, which means you're probably going to ask her in a few minutes. You do NOT do that. Don't be that girl."

"Oh god you're making me sound so uncool," Callie gasped when she realized just how much Arizona had taught her in that one paragraph.

" _Very_ uncool. Now put it back in your purse, check yourself out in a mirror the way you do when you need to boost your confidence, and make Penny the happiest woman in here. And by 'here' I mean the Milky Way."

Callie smiled, and then looked up.

"Oh Penny..."

"Will you two just MAKE UP YOUR MINDS!" The red-head shouted as she turned to leave.

"And will you just STOP APPEARING AT THE WRONG MOMENT!" Arizona shouted back as Callie got up to get her date.

Who stopped, turned around and marched back to the table.

"We're not in the hospital right now, Doctor Robbins. I will NOT be spoken to that way!"  
"The ring is FOR YOU, DUMBASS!"

Callie watched as Penny's jaw dropped. And Arizona held the box out to her ex-wife.

"Michelle Obama's phone call interrupted Callie's silly attempt at proposing to you," the blonde went on, "and I'm tired of all the negative drama that's been happening around us lately. You're a part of my life now, Penny. Whether I like it or not. You're good with my daughter. So you get to be happy. Let's all be _happy_ , for frick's sake!"

And three pagers went off at once.

* * *

 **I wanted to name this chapter "Interruptions". Decided not to.**

 **I have no idea where this story's headed, but I want it to be at least 10 chapters long.**

 **Thanks for getting this far. Please review: I don't have a beta, so it helps to get feedback.**


	7. Chapter 7

**Song: Laura Mvula – Kiss my Feet**

* * *

"Alright, sir. I'm going to pull this out now," Callie declared, while she and the rest of the hospital staff did a mental countdown – in sync – and waited for her to perform the action.

The giant wooden stake had gone through the man's mouth and appeared from behind his head. And they had o idea how he was still alive.

But Amelia had given the all-clear. It would have to come out. And she would be there to record it.

For Bailey, who was too short to see over – or under – the throng who'd gathered to watch the Ortho goddess work.

 _CRAAAAAAK!_

And it was out.

"Hey I know you guys," the guy stated, "you're #Calzona!"

"How the hell are you even _talking_ right now?" Dr. Robbins gasped.

"Can I get a selfie with y'all?" He really wanted to know.

"I think we need to check him for drugs," Callie told the nurse, who nodded and went off to find a kit.

They would have to keep him awake for as long as possible while they tried to figure out when the hell had just happened. And while Arizona and the other people in the room assessed the multiple nail-wounds in his abdomen for surgical removal.

"Doctor Blake," Arizona requested, "status report?"

"No material other than blood coming from the wounds," the Resident replied, "and he's had his appendix out, so-"

"No I haven't," the patient laughed. "This is the first time I've been in a hospital. Or whatever. I didn't even know women could be surgeons. It's like y'all got the vote last year and now you run the world."

"Curious," Amelia shone a light into his eyes. "What year is this, sir?"

"1921," he stated with the confidence of a person who'd just had a large wooden stake pulled out of his neck. And could still speak.

"Where were you stationed during the war?" Arizona asked.

"France. I fought in the Somme." She would have rolled her eyes if the nurse didn't reenter the room with a blood testing kit.

"What's _that_ for?"

"We need to run some tests," Amelia explained, "and you...should probably start talking while the ENT specialists take some 3D photos of your head."

"Still no word on who he is?" Bailey asked Callie, Arizona and Penny when they stepped out of the room.

"Other than the fact that he was trespassing on government property, fell out of a window carrying an active nail gun and wound up impaled on a wooden stake someone just happened to leave outside on his way down...no," Arizona replied.

"How did that stake end up in the man's mouth anyway?"

"Screaming on his way down?" Callie theorized.

"Must be one helluva screamer," Penny remarked.

"Unless someone stabbed him in the mouth and pushed him. Some kind of struggle," Bailey stated. "I should tell security to get him a room that we can monitor."

"Why would we-?"

"A room full of people just took photos and videos of you saving that man's life and have probably uploaded them to the interpleefs by now," the Chief of Surgery remarked as she dialled a number on her phone. "If that man was a victim of foul play, he's going to be super easy to find."

"But we have to work on him," Callie argued, "we can't do that _and_ be fair to the other patients if we have to go back and forth through isolated parts of the hospital. He's going to need everyone's help, and-"

"No amount of brain damage can make a man say the nonsensical things he was spouting out in there," Bailey stated. "Something's going on, and I don't want to expose a large number of people in my hospital to it. Now decide which of you two will work on him. Torres will have to deal with his bones, so that's a given. But I can only spare one more surgeon in that part of the hospital."

"I'll do it," Penny volunteered.

"No you won't, Doctor Blake. Will someone page Wilson?"

"Why Wilson? I'm a General Surgeon too," Arizona protested.

"And I happen to be the one making this decision right now," the short woman would not be argued with that night. "Torres and Wilson will handle this case. You and Blake will help out in the pit. Triple bus crash in Main Street. Wounded are on their way: it's all hands on deck."

"Doctor Torres," Polly stated as she rushed to the other woman's side. "Where do you need me?"

"What?"

"Doctor Preston is your new Ortho Attending," Bailey remarked. "I brought her here especially."

Just as Catherine Avery and Richard Webber burst through the doors while attending to a patient on a stretcher.

"CAREFUL OF THE DETACHED LIMBS!" Richard was already yelling at a bewildered intern, as the sound of multiple ambulance sirens grew louder.

"I'm getting the patient's room ready, Doctor Torres," Wilson said on the other end of the phone as the chaos in The Pit began to get extra crazy.

"Heading there in a minute. We may need to prep him for surgery. Make sure we're close to an OR."

"Good luck, Callie," Arizona stated as they passed each other in the hallway.

Her protective gown was covered in blood. The Latina had seen that several times before. But something about the way it looked that night.

Wrong. All of it. The situation. The dinner. The engagement ring.

The elevator doors closed shut, and the metal pressed into her ribs.

 _"I'm pretty sure you know what this is,"_ the man whispered, _"and I'm also pretty sure you're smart enough not to piss me off."_

* * *

"You ordered a head CT?" Amelia asked Owen.

"I think you'd better examine him first," the Trauma surgeon informed her, "slurred speech, no outward injuries. I think he has a TBI. He must have, if he came from the bus crash like he says he did."

"Wait- what?" Amelia caught as they opened the door to the room.

"The bus crash? You know: the one with the overflowing river of patients we're currently seeing to?"

"All of them are accounted for," Amelia insisted. "3 60-seater buses with filled seats. All of the passengers are admitted at the hospitals with their seat belts."

An idea in use in their corner of the state of Washington, since no one really had time to identify people right after an accident of that kind.

"What?"

"Where's his seat belt? The first responders must have tagged it with a sticker when they found him. Cut him out of the wreckage with the belt, tied it around him and sent him here."

The nurses looked puzzled. And then Amelia asked the next question.

"More importantly: where is this so-called patient?"

Arizona stopped in her tracks and turned to face Owen and Amelia.

She'd seen him wheel the man in. Asked Owen if he needed help. And been declined.

Bailey caught her arm as soon as she got to the corner.

"Where do you think you're-"

"I HAVE TO GET TO CALLIE!"


	8. Chapter 8

**Song: Hozier – Arsonist's Lullaby**

* * *

 _The audience waited for the speaker to take a deep breath. And fell in love with her voice when she began to speak._

" _I, like many people in this world, have experienced loss. Deep, profound loss," the Latina doctor began, "and it's not as if I haven't come close to losing my own life more than once."_

 _Strange way to start a talk about triumph. But she seemed like she knew what she was talking about._

" _And there's been one question nagging at me, the older I get," she continued. "It started after I finished my Residency. After I gave birth to my daughter. After the loss of my daughter's father and the near loss of my wife."_

" _And it's been getting louder ever since. And there's no answer. No honest one, anyway. And I can't lie to myself about it either. That's how profound the question is."_

 _She clicked on the tiny remote and the first slide appeared._

" _Have I trained my replacements?"_

* * *

Callie walked out of the elevator, but didn't move too quickly.

The gun was aimed at her ribs. Between them, more like. And she didn't want to see if it was loaded.

The man was dressed in scrubs. And she should have noticed that he couldn't be trusted when she got on the elevator.

He must have got them from one of the laundry bins on the ground floor. Light blue with blood on them.

Dried blood. Thankfully. Which meant that no one in the hospital had been hurt by him.

Yet.

" _Grey-Sloan has Polly now,"_ she thought to herself as they got closer to the room.

A security guard was standing with his hands on a night-stick. Big, brawny and alert.

Which meant the man with the gun was going to be extra vicious. And nervous.

Nervous men with guns, in that hospital. Meant dead people. Lots, and lots of dead people.

"Doctor Torres," the guard greeted her, "just letting you know there are 3 of us on duty tonight. I'm stationary and the other 2 are on patrol while you work on the patient. Is anyone else coming up here? Nurses?"

"Nurse Thomson here is helping me," Callie stated. Hoping the man got the hint.

"Of course," the guard nodded. "Good luck."

The younger security guard on the corner did a double-take.

It was his first day at work in the hospital, but he could recognize the doctor in question. She'd been working there since he was in elementary school. And she was famous.

So why'd she call the guy wearing light blue scrubs a nurse? And since when did nurses at Trauma Center hospitals walk _behind_ doctors?

And where was Nurse Thomson's ID badge?

* * *

" _With so much danger and pain in the world, it's only fair that we sometimes stop to think about what holds us together," the speaker continued. "And of course I mean it in the literal sense otherwise why would you be here, am I right?"_

 _A polite chuckle, even though what she'd said wasn't funny._

 _But her mind raced to the woman who'd helped her with her speech. Prepared her for it._

* * *

" _Karev has Wilson,"_ Callie thought as Jo began to update her on the patient's status.

Her back was to the Attending, so she couldn't see what was going on.

" _Penny will meet someone less accident-prone."_

Why was the patient covered up?

"...applying the last IV bag," Wilson rattled on, "...and we're good to go, Doctor Torres. Oh, who's-"

" _And Arizona has...has..."_

The pistol left Callie's ribs and was pointed at the covered figure on the bed. Callie moved just as quickly.

Elbow connected with jaw. Trigger squeezed twice.

Figure underneath the bed emerged leg-first, tripped the man, removed its appendage and hit him in the head. Hard.

Enough to knock him out cold.

And that's when the guards came busting in.

"What the HELL just-"

Arizona held herself up by leaning on the hospital bed. The patient was in the OR. Counting down from 100 like a good boy, with Warren and Hunt in attendance.

Callie was still hyperventilating.

"You're bleeding," Arizona declared as she tried to slide her leg back on.

The intruder was dragged out of the room and Wilson was seated on the floor.

"One of us will have to see to him, you know," Arizona was calm.

Callie seized her shoulder. "Bitch."

Blonde eyes blinked. "What?"

"You...BITCH!" Callie yelled at her. And began to shake her shoulders. Furiously.

"WHY ARE YOU HERE!"

"STOP IT, CALLIE!"

"WE HAVE A CHILD! SHE CAN'T LOSE US BOTH!"

"AND I CAN'T LOSE YOU!" Robbins pushed her back. And then slapped her. Hard.

Callie slapped her back. Arizona was standing on one leg, but she didn't fall.

"What did you want me to do, huh?" The blonde asked with fury in her eyes.

The Latina tensed her jaw. Neither of them broke eye contact.

"You were supposed to let me _go_."

"Screw _you_ , Calliope."

Distance closed between them. Arms wrapped around each other.

But the lips collided first. Hard, like they'd never done that before. Or like this was the last time it would ever happen.

Wilson stared with a jaw that almost touched her knees. And then tried not to hear the moaning.

"I'll...um..."

They were ignoring her anyway.

"I'll go be somewhere else now."

Door closed. Mouths still attached. Bodies wriggling so furiously against each other that the mortuary dummy they'd placed on the bed fell off.

The thud of semi-plastic rubber on the floor is what finally brought them to their senses.

They stopped kissing, but didn't pull apart. Not immediately, anyway.

Staring. To the point where they went from hunger, to surprise...to shock.

"She's wearing your ring," Arizona stated. "And she'll be on the ground floor waiting for you."

" _Calliope..."_ said Doctor Torres...in the voice that didn't sound like her own...before she could stop herself.

"This is wrong. You should go. We should both just...go," Doctor Robbins said as she recognized the imitation of herself in the other woman's voice.


	9. Chapter 9

**AN: So...life happened. And I've been in pain. Writing has been almost impossible. Decided to finish this here doohickey. If I can.**

 **Song: "I'd Rather Go Blind" by Etta James.**

* * *

Engagement sex. That's what they called it.

Tons of engagement sex, whenever they had the time. Callie barely heard the many statements of concern, or felt Bailey's hug when they got back from the ordeal with the unsuccessful gunman.

All she'd seen was the back of Arizona's head turning a corner way ahead of her. And then there was Penny. With Callie's ring on her finger.

And all she kept hearing was the thud of the mortuary dummy as it hit the floor.

Even when she led her fiancee to the on-call room. Even when she threw her onto a bed, having forgotten to lock the door. Even when she peeled the red-head's scrub-top off and freed one of her nipples from her bra.

Engagement sex, to the sound of a dropping mortuary dummy. Playing over and over in her head.

And then, one night, Penny began to ask questions. And Callie didn't want to answer them.

"Should we...do it before we move to New York or after?"

"Hmm?"

"The wedding, Callie."

"Oh. I'll be right back."

Penny had thought she'd go to the kitchen. Get a glass of water or something, and then be back in her arms. But the front door opened and Callie walked out.

* * *

"What the hell?" Arizona gasped when she opened the front door.

"I...need to talk to you."

"You need to tell me why the hell you drove across town at 3 in the morning. Without calling me first. sofia's asleep, so you can't see her right n-"

Lips reached across the threshold and caught a corresponding pair. And then tongues lashed against each other. And in they went. Up the stairs, almost instinctively.

And landed on Arizona's bed.

This time there was no sound of a mortuary dummy hitting the floor. Only the sound of the mattress. Sheets. Compressed air. And Callie, kneeling down to take her ex-wife's leg off.

"Wait...stop."

Both women were frozen now. It had been Arizona who'd spoken. "We...can't do this. Not tonight."

"I need to talk. And I need you to listen."

The tone, and look in Callie's face, made Arizona nod. And pat the spot next to her on the bed.

The soft bedclothes and mattress curved under Callie's weight, and both women sat facing each other in a dark room lit only by a bedside lamp. And the necklace Callie wore.

"I've been grieving since I walked out of that therapist's office," the Latina began.

"So have I," Arizona stated, "it's what happens in a divorce. People-"

"For the person I was when I was with you," Callie continued – and interrupted.

"I'm not sure I..."

"I've been in so much pain, Arizona. We hurt each other. Real bad."

"Oh Callie..."

"Never call me that. Ever. I'm Calliope. YOUR Calliope."

"You're engaged to Penny."

"I'm..." Callie began to cry. "Engaged to Penny. And moving across the country. And and and...god, I'm so stupid!"

"You've moved on. We both have, remember?"

"I'm grieving for who I as when I was with you," Callie said, "and it's getting worse each day."

"You need therapy for that, Callie."

"It's Calliope! Say my name right!"

"Why?"

Callie raised a hand and let it linger in the air...looking at confused, and then calm, blue eyes. Asking for permission. Which was given in the form of a slow nod.

Permission to stroke Arizona's left cheek.

"Before I asked Penny to marry me," Callie explained, "we were having sex. Amazing sex. And when I was...climaxing...I said my name."

Arizona raised an eyebrow. "You said...your own name...during an orgasm?"

"I said it the way you say mine. When we're...when you're..."

"Use the past tense, please," Arizona corrected her, as the fingers on her cheek moved lower. To her neck. "You...imitated me saying your name during an orgasm."

"Yes. But...it was deeper than an imitation. It was..."

"And then you went out and bought an engagement ring the next day."

"I was scared."

"You were ready to get shot in the ribs to save a patient's life, but you were scared of what you said when you were in heat?"

"Stop mocking me!"

"I'm trying to understand why your grief should be more important than your happiness with Penny."

Two sets of angry eyes looked at each other. And then they pounced.

It started as a wrestling match, which Arizona made sure to lose. And wound up on her back with Callie panting on top of her. They'd both wanted to smack the living hell out of each other a few minutes earlier. Now they were...a second away from embracing.

It was a hug. Callie lay on top of her ex-wife, and they hugged.

At first.

And then it was a kiss. On each of Callie's cheeks. And then it was hands, and lips, and nipples, and pants flung across the room, and underwear torn off by two pairs of eager hands.

And then it was grinding hips. And grunting. And Callie being pushed off so Arizona's head could dive between her thighs.

It was anger. And then it was names: both saying each other's.

And then it was heavy breathing, next to each other. And Callie on top of her again. To talk some more.

"I want to grieve again," Callie whispered as a finger stroked Arizona's right cheek this time.

"You're hurting yourself, Callie."

"For the person I am when I'm not with you."


End file.
